Manish Malhotra's nephew- Punit Malhotra is Sonam Kapoor's latest squeeze. Though the dainty lass is paired opposite Imran Khan in Dharma Productions' 'I Hate Luv Storys' but she developed a liking her director on the sets of the film.

The two became serious during the New Zealand schedule. They used to go out for dinner together and enjoyed each other's company.

According to a source, "Punit was constantly taking Sonam's photos and telling her how gorgeous she looked. Whenever they weren't shooting, the two would go out and try new places for dinner. In fact, Sonam even told her sister Rhea about Punit."

However their public display of affection didn't go down well with Mama Manish Malhotra and producer Karan Johar who told Punit to "concentrate only on his work".

The crew of the film is also aware of the closeness between Sonam and Punit. A source adds, "The relationship is rather new, and at this early stage, tiffs are normal. In fact, Imran keeps teasing her about it all the time."

Punit has earlier worked assistant director in Paheli (2005), starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji; and Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), starring Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta. Not surprisingly, Manish Malhotra will design the costumes for the film.

I Hate Love Stories is said to be a film about a film director, Sammir and his assistant director and production designer played by Imran and Sonam.